The venerable search company has been attempting to expand into the world of …

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For the last half-year or so, Google has been experimenting with print advertising as an additional revenue source. That's correct, print—involving paper, ink, and mass distribution of periodicals. Analysts have been happy to point out what they perceive to be the flaws in Google's plans, but the search giant has earned a reputation for turning traditional models upside down. As a result, online and traditional advertisers have been watching Google's experiments very closely. The naysayers got a big boost recently, as Google's attempt to auction ad space in several big-name magazines drew little interest and even smaller earnings.

The lackluster appetite for its February auction is just the latest challenge for Google's six-month foray into print ads. Late last year, Google conducted its first trial by purchasing and reselling ad space in a handful of magazines. Although the Internet giant lauded the trial's outcome, a BusinessWeek analysis found that 8 of 10 participating advertisers were disappointed with the results and probably wouldn't buy print ads through Google again.

Rather than being just one facet of a wide-ranging marketing campaign, Google would like to leverage its brand awareness to become a one-stop shop for advertisers by offering them the ability to run their ads in a variety of media beyond the online world. One can see how this would have some appeal for the ad buyers, who could limit the number of different vendors they would have to contract, and also for Google, who can pick up revenue from a wider variety of sources.

Unfortunately, Google is still searching for a model: something they can bring to the table that other companies may not be able to duplicate or do as well. With that in mind, the company recently purchased ad space in a number of high-profile periodicals including Martha Stewart Living and Road and Track, with the goal of auctioning that space off to the highest bidder.

To be generous, the results were disappointing—at least from Google's perspective. To begin with, the auction ended up being extended past its original end date, apparently due to lack of interest on the part of bidders. When it was finally over, some of the auction winners had gotten great deals: CoffeeCup Software ended up with three half-page ads in MSL for a price of about US$4,000 each. The regular rate for such an ad is a much pricier US$59,000. BluePenguin Sofware got almost as good a discount when it spent US$3,000 on a Google ad in Budget Living, yet ended up tracking less than US$200 in sales generated.

It's important to keep in mind that, although Google is clearly losing some money on some of its early forays into the print world, it certainly has the money to lose. Google is more likely to return to the drawing board and try a different model than it is to give up, and recent staff positions being sought by the company seems to confirm that Google is in it for the long haul.

Whatever the results of this latest test, it only takes a bit of surfing around Google's job boards to see that Google isn't toying with print ad buying. In fact, it's building a first-class team of print media buyers and planners. Right now, its New York office is seeking a Print Media Planner, a Publication Ads Media Buyer, a Publications Partner Manager, a Publication Ad Sales Director, and two Publication Partners Account Coordinators.

Google's experiments in print will be closely studied by their competitors in the advertising world. Any success Google may find will likely be copied and perhaps refined by old school advertising agencies, and any failures will no doubt be taken into account as those same agencies seek to find their own crossover models.